The time has come to change the way we fill vacancies in the
Maryland General Assembly
by Kevin E. Dayhoff March 6, 2015
Many have followed the seemingly never-ending drama produced
by the Carroll County Md. Republican Central Committee to fill the vacancy of
Carroll County Senator Joe Getty, who was appointed to the administration of
Gov. Larry Hogan.
Are you still with me? Follow closely, it is going to be a
bumpy ride…
Just for the record, there are many-many really good people
involved in this soap opera. All the more reason to change the process. If good
folks cannot make it work – over and over again; then the time has come to
change the way we do it. If we keep doing what we are doing, we are going to
keep getting what we are getting.
The system has arguably been broken for at least 150 years –
since 1867. What are we waiting for to fix it?
If you believe that the recent trials and tribulations that have
befallen the process of filling a vacancy are an anomaly – think again. I am
old enough to remember the challenges that took place in July 2004 when “A rift
… developed in the Carroll County Republican Central Committee, as it
prepare[d] to select a replacement for outgoing Del. Carmen Amedori, R-District
5A.,” according to July 3, 2004 article in the Carroll County Times by one the
better political writers that the Times had in years, Justin Palk. See: July
03, 2004: Rift forms in Carroll's GOP central committee
http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/03/july-03-2004-rift-forms-in-carrolls-gop.html
And actually, when taking an in-depth look at the vacancy replacement
and appointment process, the problems have gone-on for decades and decades… I
am old enough to remember that there were problems in the mid-to-late 1960s. Although I do not
remember the details…
Many have appropriately referred to Art. III Sec 13 of the
Maryland Constitution ... In particular, the Acts of 1966, ch 162 was ratified
on November 8, 1966, and defined the duties of the political parties in
nominating replacement members of the legislature and setting limits within
which they must act.
The context of the passage of the law was fascinating and
widely discussed at the time.
I am a bit familiar with this portion, Section 13 of Art.
lll, (of the Maryland Constitution – ratified Sept. 18, 1867 with an effective
date of on October 5, 1867.) I may have even written about Art. III Sec 13.
I am a bit familiar with this portion, Section 13 of Art.
lll, (of the Maryland Constitution – ratified Sept. 18, 1867 with an effective
date of on October 5, 1867.) I may have even written about Art. III Sec 13.
My cousin, Wilbur W. Magin, D-CC, 1959 – 1967, participated
in the legislation which amended Art III Sec. 13 (b) (3) ratified Nov. 8, 1966.
According to the Maryland State Archives, “Maryland has had
four consitutions [sic.] At the time of the Revolutionary War, the first
constitution was adopted by the Ninth Provincial Convention, meeting at
Annapolis, in November 1776. Voters adopted the second constitution in June
1851. During the Civil War, the third constitution was adopted by the voters in
October 1864. Voters adopted the fourth and last constitution under which
Maryland government now functions in September 1867. This probably the
beginning of our current problems with filling vacancies.
Fast forward to today’s news, according to
an
article in Maryland Reporter by veteran
political reporter Len Lazarick on Thursday, January 15, 2015, “In filling the
three legislative vacancies he has created in building his new administration,
Gov.-elect Larry Hogan said he’d like to see a more open nominating process
used by the Republican central committees and more candidate names for him to
fill the seats…”
Perhaps there has been no better time to change the way
vacancies are filled to the most transparent of all procedures – a special
election. Let the voters decide.
I am aware that many of the folks who do not want the
special election method argue that they would rather avoid the expense. That is
a compelling and persuasive argument.
That was the argument in the late 1960s and that was the
argument in 2004. Upon both occasions, folks vowed that the challenges to the
current process were a personality-driven challenge and that the central committees
would do a better job in the future.
However, at this point I am increasingly willing to accept
the more cynical version of events - that partisan politics – in both the Democrat
and Republican parties - have entered into an unholy alliance to maintain the
status quo, no matter how messy it be, than give up the power to exercise the
inside baseball power partisan machine politics of a particular jurisdiction in
the state. We are all familiar with the local party favorite with the strident
partisan views that make him or her un-electable. The current process provides
a way to circumvent the collective wisdom of the local voters.
Upon three occasions in the last fifty-years – central
committees both Democrat and Republican have not done a better job. Three strikes, you're out. You ruined your opportunity to do it your way. Now is the time to put the publics' best interests first and change the system to a direct special election. Might be no
better time than the present to develop a better procedure. Just saying.
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July 03, 2004: Rift forms in Carroll's GOP central committee
By Justin Palk, Times Staff Writer
If you believe that the trials and tribulations that have
befallen the process of filling a vacancy in the Maryland General Assembly are
an anomaly – think again. I am old enough to remember the challenges that took
place in July 2004 when “A rift … developed in the Carroll County Republican
Central Committee, as it prepare[d] to select a replacement for outgoing Del.
Carmen Amedori, R-District 5A.,” according to July 3, 2004 article in the
Carroll County Times by one the better political writers that the Times had in
years, Justin Palk.
Not to be overlooked were the problems in 1967…
Back in February 2015, I looked for this article on the Carroll County Times website and could
not find it. If I had found it I would use the ‘AP rule’ and only post no more
than 75 words and then provide the reader with a link… If someone over at the Times can provide me with a link to this
article in archives; that would be great.
Pasted below, in part, is one of a number of articles in my
archives file about the problems making an appointment to fill the seat vacated
by Del. Carmen Amedori when she was picked by the administration of Gov. Robert
L. Ehrlich to fill a slot on the Md. parole commission.
Rift forms in Carroll's GOP central committee
By Justin Palk, Times Staff Writer Saturday, July 03, 2004
A rift has developed in the Carroll County Republican
Central Committee, as it prepares to select a replacement for outgoing Del.
Carmen Amedori, R-District 5A.
Thursday, Michelle Jefferson, the committee's chairwoman,
sent an e-mail message to Joe Burns Jr., a committee member. It reads, in part,
"since you've reniged [sic] on your word and have refused to resign, I am
obligated to inform you of the rescheduled regular meeting for Tuesday, July 6
at 7:30."
Jefferson confirmed she composed the message. Carroll's
central committee received a directive from John Kane, the state Republican
Party chairman, asking the body not to meet until it had received Burns'
resignation, which the party was working to secure, she said. This week, the
party rescinded its order, Jefferson said.
[…]
Deborah Martinez, spokeswoman for the Maryland State
Republican Party, said she could neither confirm nor deny that the state party
had issued such an order. She did confirm the state party is aware of a problem
with Carroll County's central committee.
The committee is meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the
process for replacing Amedori, Jefferson said. Thursday, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich
Jr. appointed the delegate to the Maryland Parole Commission, creating a
vacancy in the county's legislative delegation.
Jefferson and Burns have had difficult relations in the
past. On April 28 of this year, Burns pressed second-degree assault charges
against the committee chairwoman, according to charging documents filed with
the Carroll County District Court. In the documents, Burns accused Jefferson of
grabbing his right index finger and bending it backward during a heated
discussion at the end of a committee meeting on April 15.
Burns dropped the charges on June 17, the day before the
case went to trial, according to a letter from the Howard County State's
Attorney's Office, which was assigned to the case as a special prosecutor.
Burns said he dropped the charges at the request of Kane and
Joe Getty, formerly state delegate for District 5, now the governor's policy
director.
Despite making multiple phone calls, the Times was unable to
reach Getty for this article.
[…]
The article goes on for a while; mostly more about ‘who
stuck John ya da ya da…
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This was an updated letter sent today to all applicants for
the D5 Delegate Seat:
Dear Applicant:
Wednesday you may have received an email from Matt
Helminiak, Secretary for the Republican Central Committee. If so, it has
several factual errors and misrepresentations. We four members of the committee
are and have been committed to a fair and open process but it continues to
elude us. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to contact the Governor’s office
on your own behalf to ensure that your application for the D5 seat now receives
full consideration since our committee chose not to meet and make its own
recommendation to fill the vacant seat.
The legal case Matt referred to in no way prevented the
Central Committee from meeting and fulfilling its duty to recommend a name or
names to the Governor. We also have no way of knowing whether it was a
unanimous decision at this point. The injunction in place, lifted Monday,
simply prevented the committee from recommending multiple names to the
Governor. We were always willing to meet to make our decision regardless of the
decision of the court. As we awaited the hearing, we urged our chairman on
numerous occasions to conduct the interviews and we would hold our final vote
after Monday (taking just a few minutes.) We followed an identical process in
filling the D4 seat. Chairman Jones refused to call that meeting and now the
Governor will decide, within 15 days, who is best to represent us in the legislature.
We will not dismiss the case despite pressure from the
majority. Not only is it disrespectful to the court, but it would also prevent
the court from issuing a full written opinion on the Constitutional issues at
stake – our real purpose.
The Governor has 15 days from today to make his appointment.
Here is the contact information you need to advocate for your appointment.
Good luck and thank you for your time and effort in this
process.
Kathy Fuller, Melissa Caudill, Amy Gilford and Jim Reter,
Carroll County Central Committee Members
APPOINTMENTS OFFICE
James D. Fielder, Jr., Ph.D., Secretary of Appointments
Chris Cavey, Deputy Secretary of Appointments
Jennifer Barker Jefferson, Executive Assistant
Kim L. Crispino, Special Assistant
Jeffrey P. Horsley, Special Assistant
Vacancy, Special Assistant
Fred L. Wineland Building, 5th floor
16 Francis St., Annapolis, MD 21401 - 1925
(410) 974-2611; fax: (410) 974-2456
e-mail: appointments@gov.state.md.us
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Related:
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Or – food for thought; if Carroll County Delegate Susan Krebs
had applied with the central committee, she would be the appropriate choice
because she is the ranking senior member of the Carroll County Delegation to
Annapolis. That said, the word is that she did not throw her name in the hat…
Del. Justin Ready, R-District 5 is the clear choice for the
Carroll County Republican Central Committee to fill the vacancy in the Maryland
State Senate left by outgoing Senator Joe Getty
According to
an
article in Maryland Report by veteran political reporter Len Lazarick on
Thursday, January 15, 2015, “In filling the three legislative vacancies he has
created in building his new administration, Gov.-elect Larry Hogan said he’d
like to see a more open nominating process used by the Republican central
committees and more candidate names for him to fill the seats…”
[…]
Michelle Jefferson: Committee wanted to right a wrong
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“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the
process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an
abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” FRIEDRICH WILHELM NIETZSCHE
1844-1900
Kevin Dayhoff, a slave to the masters of the page - the
little soldiers in my life – words
People who do not understand your silence will never
understand your words.
